Process for producing embossed designs on hard surfaces rolls



y 1954 H. WlLSON ETAL 2,684,291

PROCESS FOR PRODUCING EMBOSSED DESIGNS ON HARD SURFACED ROLLS Filed April 30, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet l m fi d uh vno a hmlxwb N f abzw ki Wail y fio m MMMWMHMH A M 3 M-I FM QFMW-P 0 0 22 b 6417 MM 5 MAM m 9 2;

25 36; N 24 1 195 W/WVW/W/ifl ///m u 2'7 29"- 7 V I /M/VF 22 23 IN If EN TORS I v Loren; HJ Vzlson James B. Thompson W, .%& M

ATTORNEYS y 20, 1954 H. WILSON ET AL 2,684,291

PROCESS FOR PRODUCING BOSSED DESIGNS 0N HARD SURFA ROLLS Filed April 50, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 33 29 I James blT/z ompsorz A TT'ORNFYS y 1954 H. WILSON ET AL 2,684,291

PROCES OR PRODUCING EMBOSSED DESIGN N HARD SURFACED ROLLS Filed April 30, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 A A 44 m a A b M 04 AW 15 5 4 a W WW 0 M W 2aa:%4flk M W 5 MM HM n k b M 5 F I 1 F6916 INKENTORS Lor fiWzZson W F .15 Ja BJ/wmpson Ly sZ- W M ATTORNEYS Patented July 20, 1954 PROCESS FOR PRODUCING EMBOSSED DE- SIGNS ON HARD SURFACED ROLLS Lorenz H. Wilson and James B. Thompson,

Sharon, Pa., assignors to Sharon Steel Corporation, Sharon, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 30, 1951, Serial No. 223,664

3 Claims.

reverse, on the surface of a roll which is placed in a standard cold roll mill, in cooperation with another roll, which may be a conventional roll With a smooth surface, and as metal sheets, strips, or the like, are passed through the mill the pressure of the rolls causes the reverse of the design on said roll to be pressed or rolled into the surface of the metal sheets or strips.

Under present practice there are two methods for producing such embossed designs upon rolls for this purpose, both of which methods are quite expensive and neither of which is entirely satisfactory.

One method now in use for embossing such rolls is to first hand engrave the designs, figures or letters on a small roll, which is subsequently hardened and ground and then, using extreme pressure, this small embossed roll is pushed against the larger roll to be used in the rolling mill, embedding the design in the surface thereof.

Obviously, the roll embossed in this manner cannot be very hard, or the design could not be pressed into the surface thereof by the smaller roll, and, as a consequence, designs embossed upon the surfaces of rolls in this manner will quickly wear off in use. Owing to the size of such rolls it is usually very expensive to heat treat and grind them to overcome this objection.

The other method at present in use for embossing such rolls is to hand engrave the rolls, which is a very laborious, time-consuming and expensive operation, and the rolls thus embossed are not sufficiently hard to withstand long Wear.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a process by means of which designs, figures, letters and the like, may be quickly and inexpensively embossed on very hard surfaced,

metal rolls, without requiring that the rolls be annealed before the embossing operation, or that they be heat treated subsequent thereto.

An object of the invention is to provide a process which consists in first engraving the desired design in intaglio upon a flat plate, and then, by means of an acid resistant substance and a sheet of thin paper, transferring the design to the surface of a roll, and etching the design in relief on the roll.

It is also an object to provide a process for embossing such rolls by first producing the desired designs, figures, letters or the like by photoengraving the same upon a flat steel plate, the depressions or low places in the engraved plate being filled with a Waxy, bituminous acid resistant substance, which is then transferred, by means of a sheet of thin paper, to the surface of the roll to be embossed, after which the roll, with the design in said acid resistant substance upon the surface thereof, is etched in acid, producing the embossed designs, figures or letters upon the surface of the roll, in reverse to the design upon the engraved plate, that is in relief, so that the low points of the design on the engraved plate are the high points of the design on the roll, and vice versa.

The above objects together with others which will be apparent from the drawings and following description, may be attained by carrying out the process for embossing rolls in the manner hereinafter described in detail, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view of a portion of a sheet of paper having an enlarged black and white drawing of the desired design thereon;

Fig. 2 a fragmentary plan view of a portion of a fiat steel plate upon which the design, reduced to the exact size desired on the roll, is reproduced by photo-engraving;

Fig. 3 a section through the engraved plate taken as on the line 3-3, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 a section similar to Fig. 3, showing the engraved plate covered with a waxy, bituminous, acid resistant substance;

Fig. 5 a similar view, showing the manner in which the excess acid resistant substance is removed from the engraved plate, so that it remains only in the depressions or low points in the plate;

Fig. 6 a similar view, showing the next step in the process, in which a sheet of tissue paper is pressed upon the engraved surface of the plate and stuck tightly to the resist;

Fig. '7 a similar section, showing the next step of the process, in which the sheet of tissue paper is removed from the engraved plate, with the design in the acid resistant substance transferred from the depressions in the plate to the paper;

Fig. 8 a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of a roll with the tissue paper, having the resist design thereon, pressed around the surface of the roll;

Fig. 9 a similar view, showing the tissue paper being removed from the roll, leaving the resist upon the surface of the roll in the desired design;

Fig. an end elevation of the roll, on a small scale, showing the manner in which it is rotated in an acid bath to etch the surface thereof;

Fig. 1-1 a similar view, showing the washing of the roll with water to remove the acid;

Fig. 12 an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view of a portion of the etched and washed roll;

Fig. 13 a similar view, showing the embossed roll after the resist has been removed therefrom, and the roll is ready for use in a cold roll mill for embossing metal sheets, strips and the like;

Fig. 14 a fragmentary, side elevation of a portion of the finished embossed roll;

Fig. 15 a view of a cold roll mill provided with one of the embossed rolls, showing the manner in which sheet metal may be passed through the mill to impress the design thereon; and,

Fig. 16 an elevation of a portion of a metal sheet embossed with the design. Referring now more particularly tothe process for embossing designs upon hard surfaced rolls, as illustrated in the drawings, an enlarged paper drawing of the design is first made, as indicated at 2il, being as much larger than the finished design to be placed on the roll as can be conveniently made. Usually an enlargement of two to four times the size desired on the roll is suffi cient. The design, as shown atZi, is drawn or printed upon the paper sheet 26, preferably in black or other solid color, as shown.

The design, as produced onthe paper drawing 2-0, is then engraved upon a flat steel plate, as indicated at 22, in Figs. 2 to 7, by well known photo-engraving procedure, the design, as indicated at 23, being reduced in the photo-en raving process to the exact sizedesired upon the roll. The design indicated at 23 is thus engraved in the surface of the steel plate 22, formingdepressions or recesses in the surfaceof the plate, as shown-in Figs. Zto '7. This engraved surface of the plate 22 is next covered with a waxy, bituminous, acid resistant substance, such as asphalt and beeswax, preferably about the consistency of putty, as indicated at 24 in Fig. 4, theengraved master plate 22 being maintainedat a suitable temperature to facilitate the proper workingof this waxy, bituminous substance or acid resist.

Then, as shown in Fig. 5, this acid resist is rer moved from the high points of the surface ofthe engraved plate, as by means of a smoothblade 2,5, such as aputty knife or the like, leaving only the depressions 23 filled with the resist, as indicated at Z'o.

When all of the excess resist has been removed from the surface of the engraved master plate, a sheet of thin tissue paper,, as indicated at 2? in Fig. 6, is placed upon the engraved plate 22 and is-pressed or rubbed down wth the fingers, lambs wool, or other soft object, so as to exclude all air from under the paper, and cause it to adhere tightly to the resist 25 remaining in the depressions or low places 23. of the engraved plate.

Then, as shown in Fig. 7 the sheetof tissue paper 27 is carefully and siowly pulled away from the surface of the engraved plate 22, as indicated at;2'1 a, with the portions 28 of theresist, which had remainedin the depressions 23 of the plate, adhering to the paper, whereby the design is thus transferred from the engraved plate to the tissue paper 2?.

The tissue paper 27, with the resistdesign adhered thereto, as indicated at 26a, is then laid -around the-peripheral surface 280i the hard sur- 4 faced steel roll 29, which is to be embossed, with the resist design 26a, against the surface of the roll.

The paper 23' is then rubbed or pressed tightly against the surface of the roll with any soft object such as the fingers,lamb"s wool, or the like, until all air is excluded from beneath the paper and the resist 26a is adhered tightly to the surface of the roll.

The paper is ,then sufllciently moistened, with a solution of approximately alcohol and 50% water, to cause the paper to separate from the resist 25a, after which the paper is pulled from the roll,.as indicated at 27b in Fig. 9, leaving the resist adhering to the surface of the roll in the design which has been transferred from the depressions 23 of the engraved master plate 22, as indicated at 25b in Fig. 9.

Any small imperfections which may appear in the design thus transferred, onto the surface of the roll with the acid resist, may be touched up with a small brushand suitable lacquer, painter the like.

The roll, with the resist design thereon, is then allowed "to set for suflicient time to permit the resist to dryand harden,.after which, as shown in Fig. 10, the roll is slowly revolved in an acid bath indicated at 39, preferably a cold, 5% nitric acid solution.

All portions of the surface of the .roll which are not covered by the resist will be etched by the action of the acid bath and the operation will be continued until the desired depthof embossment is obtained. The roll .is .then washed in water, as indicated at 3! in Fig. 11, to remove the acid fromthe surface ofthe roll.

As shown in Fig. 12 the portions of the roll not covered by the acid resist 2 6a willbe etched by the acid forming low points 32, whilethe porticns, which have been protected by the resist 250., will form thedesign in relief, as indicated at 33.

properly adjusted relative to the other roll therein. The embossedroll thus produced may beeither the top, or bottom roll of the mill, or, if

it is desired to emboss both sides of themetal sheets, or the like, passed through the mill, both rolls may-bev embossed as above described. Gen- ,erally' the top roll of the millis embossed and the lower rollis a conventional, plain roll which may be suitablyv crowned.

When metal, .as indicated at 3?, .is passed through a mill provided with an embossedroll such as illustrated and described, thedesired -de sign, or embossment 23a, willbe impressed into the metal, in reverse to the design on. the rol1,.the designimpressed intothe metal being the same as the design uponlthe engravedmaster plate-'22.

Thusthe improvedmethod provides not only an inexpensive way of forming embossed rolls with any desired embossed design-but also provides an inexpensive way of producing sheet or strip metal with embossed designsthereon. Obviously,.the engraved master plate .22 can be used repeatedly for. the manufacture of a number of fi q g 119 .15. 9-

Moreover, the present invention enables very hard steel rolls to be provided with embossed designs which have a much longer life in use than embossed rolls heretofore made by the hand-engraving of designs directly in surfaces thereof.

Embossed rolls made in accordance with the present invention may be used for rolling embossed surface steel sheets or strips, and by reason of the economies resulting from the present discoveries, such material may be produced much more inexpensively than has heretofore been possible. As indicated, the material rolled may be steel or if desired stainless steel sheets and strips may be rolled in accordance with the present invention as well as aluminum sheet or strip metal or sheets or strips formed of other metals.

The embodiments of the present invention illustrated and described herein are by way of example, and the scope of the invention is not lim ited to the exact details illustrated.

Finally, in the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding, but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such words are used for descriptive purposes herein and not for the purpose of limitation, and are intended to be broadly construed.

Having now described the features of the invention, the preferred steps of the new methods, and the advantageous, new and useful results obtained thereby; the new and useful methods, steps, procedures and combinations, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof, obvious to those skilled in the art, are set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. The process for producing a raised embossed design upon a hard surfaced metal roll to be used for rolling the raised design into metal surfaces, which consists in executing an enlarged drawing of the design to be made, engraving a reduced reproduction of the design upon a flat metal plate to the exact size ultimately desired on the hard surfaced metal roll, then filling the depressions in the engraved plate with an acid resistant substance while maintaining said engraved piate at suitable temperature to facilitate working of the acid resistant substance, then transferring the acid resistant substance from the depressions in the engraved plate to a sheet of thin tissue paper, then laying the paper around the surface of the roll to be embossed and causing the acid resistant substance to adhere to the surface of the roll, then wetting the paper with an aqueous alcohol solution, then removing the paper leaving the acid resistant substance upon the roll, and then etching the uncovered portions of the roil surface with acid so as to produce the design in relief upon the roll in reverse to the design upon the hat engraved plate.

2. The process for producing a raised embossed design upon a hard surfaced metal roll to be used for rolling the raised design into metal surfaces, which consists in executing an enlarged drawing of the design to be made, engraving a reduced reproduction of the design upon a fiat metal plate to the exact size ultimately desired on the hard surfaced metal roll, then covering the engraved plate surface with a layer of waxy bituminous acid resistant substance while maintaining said engraved plate at suitable temperature to facilitate working ofthe acid resistant substance, then removing the excess acid resistant substance from the engraved plate surface so that only the depressions in the engraved plate remain filled with said acid resistant substance, then laying a sheet of thin tissue paper upon the engraved plate surface and pressing the paper against the engraved plate surface so as to exclude all air from beneath the paper to cause the paper to adhere tightly to the acid resistant substance in the engraved plate depressions, then removing the paper with the acid resistant substance adhering thereto from the engraved plate, then placing the paper with the acid resistant substance side on the hard surfaced metal roll to be embossed and pressing the paper against the roll surface to cause said acid resistant substance to adhere to the roll, then moistening the other side of the paper with an aqueous solution of 50% alcohol, then removing the paper from the roll, and then etching the uncovered portions of the roll surface with acid so as to produce the design in relief upon the roll in reverse to the design upon the flat engraved plate.

3. The process for producing a raised embossed design upon a hard surfaced metal roll to be used for rolling the raised design into metal surfaces, which consists in executing an enlarged drawing of the design to be made, engraving a reduced reproduction of the design upon a flat metal plate to the exact size ultimately desired on the hard surfaced metal roll, then covering the engraved plate surface with a layer of waxy bituminous acid resistant substance, then removing the excess acid resistant substance from the engraved plate surface so that only the depressions in the engraved plate remain filled with said acid resistant substance, then laying a sheet of thin tissue paper upon the engraved plate surface and pressing the paper against the engraved plate surface so as to exclude all air from beneath the paper to cause the paper to adhere tightly to the acid resistant substance in the engraved plate depressions, then removing the paper with the acid resistant substance adhering thereto from the engraved plate, then placing the paper with the acid resistant substance side on the hard surfaced metal roll to be embossed and pressing the paper against the roll surface to cause said acid resistant substance to adhere to the roll, then moistening the other side of the paper with an aqueous solution of 50% alcohol to cause the paper to separate from the acid resistant substance, then removing the paper from the roll, and then slowly revolving the roll in a nitric acid solution to etch the uncovered portions of the roll so as to produce the design in relief upon the roll in reverse to the design upon the flat engraved plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 112,924 Johnson Mar. 21, 1871 848,323 Ridd Mar. 26, 1907 1,80%,024 Nicolas et a1. May 5, 1931 1,911,254 Wolfsohn May 30, 1933 1,968,370 Barns July 31, 1934 2,105,969 Castel Jan. 18, 1939 2,303,395 Schultz et al. Dec. 1, 1942 2,315,903 Ormond Apr. 6, 1943 2,319,944 Ormond May 25, 1943 2,333,251 Huggins Nov. 2, 1943 2,345,989 Orrnond Apr. 4, 1944 2,346,230 Ormond Apr. 11, 1944 

1. THE PROCESS FOR PRODUCING A RAISED EMBOSSED DESIGN UPON A HARD SURFACE METAL ROLL TO BE USED FOR ROLLING THE RAISED DESIGN INTO METAL SURFACES, WHICH CONSISTS IN EXECUTING AN ENLARGED DRAWING OF THE DESIGN TO BE MADE, ENGRAVING A REDUCED REPRODUCTION OF THE DESIGN UPON A FLAT METAL PLATE TO EXTRACT SIZE ULTIMATELY DESIRED ON THE HARD SURFACE METAL ROLL, THEN FILLING THE DEPRESSIONS IN THE ENGRAVED PLATE WITH AN ACID RESISTANT SUBSTANCE WHILE MAINTAINING SAID ENGRAVED PLATE AT SUITABLE TEMPERATURE TO FACILITATE WORKING OF THE ACID RESISTANT SUBSTANCE THEN TRANSFERRING THE ACID RESISTANT SUBSTANCE FROM THE DEPRESSIONS IN THE ENGRAVED PLATE TO A SHEET OF THIN TISSUE PAPER, THEN LAYING THE PAPER AROUND THE SURFACE OF THE ROLL TO BE EMBOSSED AND CAUSING THE ACID RESISTANT SUBSTANCE TO ADHERE TO THE SURFACE OF THE ROLL, THEN WETTING THE PAPER WITH AN AQUEOUS ALCOHOL SOLUTION, THEN REMOVING THE PAPER LEAVING THE ACID RESISTANT SUBSTANCE UPON THE ROLL, AND THEN ETCHING THE UNCOVERED PORTIONS OF THE ROLL SURFACE WITH ACID SO AS TO PRODUCE THE DESIGN IN RELIEF UPON THE ROLL IN REVERSE TO THE DESIGN UPON THE FLAT ENGRAVED PLATE. 